The Wakaba Incarnate Goes to New Orleans
by Shan-chan
Summary: Diary of my band trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. PG for mild language and censored-out stronger language.
1. Prologue

Prologue

This is a true story about life, love, and what happens when the North Allegheny Marching Band goes on a trip to the Sugar Bowl. You could laugh. You probably won't cry. You may or may not end up hating Mike Ramsey. ^_^ If you don't, then you'll probably end up hating me, most of the time, things work that way. ^_^; Enjoy. You'll find explanations for just about every person, Japanese phrase, and inside joke in the Appendix.

Author's note: I left in most of my shorthand, like plus signs for and, etc., because I'm lazy and that takes less time to type.


	2. Boredom, Convenience Stores, and More Bo...

Chapter 1

12/29/00

11:38 PM - Somewhere in OH

Stuck on Bus 2, 'cause roomies all here. Bored stiff. Watched Sixteen Candles and Happy Gilmore. Latter OK. Just put in Romy + Michelle's High School Reunion. Bet Mike-tachi viewing Monty Python + Holy Grail right now. Miss Mike. All I've seen of him since we left = split-2nd glimpse of him at tiny rest stop. Wah! Already ate 1 thing of muffins + 1 of crackers. Looking for fast-food place. Have been for 1/2 hour. Dios, I want to be w/ Mike! Pulling into gas station mow. Also already done 5 logic puzzles + read 25 pgs. of The Amber Spyglass. Ja ne!

12/30/00

12:21 AM - Outside of aforementioned gas station

Yay! It was open! McD's + convenience store. Got Fruit + Yogurt Parfait at McD's. 260+ people do not fit well in there. Yup, all 6 buses stopped. Chatted w/ Anneke, Jay, Steve, Kraus, and Rapach. Met roomies. Seem nice. Bathroom line near fridges. Mike-sama getting drink. Took pic when he turned. Not sure if it worked, or earlier I got a pic of the inside of my backpack... -_-; Hopefully the former. ^_^ Maiku-sama koishite. Even if he did insult me earlier. Then I tried to hit him w/ my coat. He wrenched it out of my hands and threw it down the hall. Not even 5 min. back together, and we got in a fight! -_-; Oh, well, back to boredom!

3:01 AM - Cincinnati, OH

Can't sleep. Watching Independence Day. (Romy + Michelle not on list of approved videos. Turns out Sixteen Candles wasn't either. Holy Grail is, though. Good.) On highways above city. Looks like Pittsburgh. Coming out of city now. Hope Adam what's-his-name has some more of those Caffeinated Penguins, or whatever they're called. Though it might not be a good idea to take "pep pills" during the Band trip, since Mike is here, just not on this bus. -_-; Bleah, this log is like a very long e-mail from Alex-chan... Semi-random, + kinda rambling... BTW, the movie is good... Maybe I'll type everyone copies of this when I get home... Blech... Need caffeine... Oh, yeah, turns out Holy Grail is on 6...

4:44 AM - Rest stop in KY

Can't find Mike. Maybe they got sick of him and killed him. Or maybe he's just asleep. Dios, I hope so...

8:02 AM (Central time) - Shoney's Restaurant in Nashville, TN

Ate w/ Kerri, Julia, Kristin, Anneke, and Jay. Had fruit + a coffee w/ 3 packets of some Equal knock-off. On caffeine + sugar high. Stole 2 packets real sugar. Mike not there. Buses 1, 3, + 5 ate at Cracker Barrel. Glad I'm not on 5. No buffet, would need to eat actual breakfast food, + would annoy Mike-sama w/ my high. Next rest stop I'm getting Holy Grail from Kerri-tachi. She said they have, like, 4 copies, and knowing the Kendo Club, they've probably got about 5 on Bus 5. ^_^

1:38 PM - McD's in Tuscaloosa, AL

Just got back from lunch (grilled chic. value meal + Oreo McFlurry). Watched Holy Grail before lunch. Morgan Masterman put in Romy + Michelle while Mr. Dills was gone. He just took it out. Got Holy Grail from Bus 6 at a rest stop earlier in AL around noon. Also saw Mike. He's still alive. ^_^ Holy Grail is funny! Monty Mistress 9 to Seihai is pretty much the straight script modified w/ Sailor Moon references, and shorter. Oh, at the rest stop, Dan Dills announced the Cow Wars... basically stealing Jay's (not my friend Jay) plastic cow. Steal = 2 pts., keep overnight = 4 pts. All 6 buses playing. So far Bus 1 = 2 pts., our bus = 4 pts.

3:36 PM - Rest stop in MS

Lovely little place. Free drinks. Saw Mike-sama. Cow missing!? Not sure which bus has it, sneaking feeling it's still 1...

6:55 PM - Outskirts of New Orleans

Looks sorta like airport at night from a plane. Almost there. Finally, some time w/ Mike-sama. Bus 1 does have cow...

10:19 PM - Hotel

Nicest hotel I've been in since Disney World. Dinner was pizza. Didn't get any... OK though. Lots of food in room. Pool = extremely cold. Not much in the arcade. Fun, though, to just join the crowd around Mortal Kombat 3 + listen to commentary. Andy Heyl is actually pretty funny. Mike-sama's room is even-#d (looked at the list with everyone's room #s on it), so it's not one that opens onto the main area. Boo. He must have stayed there all night, didn't see him at all... We're on the same shimatta trip, in the same hotel for Dios's sake, and I haven't seen him in seven hours! Agh! My dream trip is starting to get boring... Oh well, my roomies are nice, and you can play N64 in your room for $7/hr. The world isn't a total loss... New Orleans at night, at least what I saw, looked sorta like Pittsburgh, but more colorful... Ah, tomorrow is a new day... Hard Rock Café (buy pin - collect!) + Aquarium of Americas w/ friends + Mike-sama... *sigh*


	3. Dances, British Pop, and a Hot Tub

Chapter 2

12/31/00 - New Year's Eve

7:39 AM - Bus to Hard Rock Café

Surprisingly quiet city... It's rush hour, where's all the traffic? Oh yeah, it's Sunday and a holiday (sort of). Baka desu. ^_^ Still haven't seen Mike-sama. We have the cow!

4:15 PM - Bus, downtown

Breakfast OK. Originally sat alone (Mike said it was because I had no friends), Maryn-tachi asked me to sit w/ them. Bought pin for collection. Aquarium - IMAX movie about Egypt. Mike kicked my seat when I sat in front of him, considered using me as a footrest, then moved. I went to sit w/ Anneke + Jay. Followed Mike after movie, 'til penguins (Mike-sama seemed to find them fascinating), bought smoothie. Spent rest of time looking for him. (Also bought soda, otter for Maura, choker for self.) Shopped w/ Kristin. Tower Records - lots of anime, insulted by Mike, spoke my mind, got told off, unleashed the Saionji quote. Found perfect earrings for tonight at Chino's Casual Clothing. Looked at Jackson's Brewery (mall) for necklace, found nothing. But Kristin found beads like those on the trees here for Caitlin. On way out, saw Virgin Megastore. Try to visit tomorrow. In 4s for whole performance. Since Jen Altrudo isn't here, I was in front of Mike-sama! Screwed up L + R during "Time Warp" dance. Jumped R, thought it was L, Mike called me an idiot. And I was. I insisted I had jumped L! Oh well, he turned L when we turned R to leave... Ha ha... But tonight is looking worse by the minute...

6:10 PM - Hotel, preparing for dance

Aa, atashi no kami-sama! I look GORGEOUS! Just watch, though, Mike is still going to call me ugly. Shikata ga nai...

1/1/01

12:56 AM - Hotel

Dios, my feet are killing me! I barely sat down once I was done eating. Kristin and I looked around Mardi Gras world, where the dance was. Anneke-tachi and I danced. We celebrated Eastern time's New Year briefly, the big celebration was, of course, Central time's New Year. Mike called me a stalker in front of a bunch of girls from another band. Around 10:30, I hatched a devious plan to get a kiss, even if I was the one doing the kissing, scheduled for the 1st celebration (Eastern time's New Year)... sneak up behind Mike-sama and kiss him on the cheek. At 11:00 Central time (12:00 Eastern), couldn't - his back was to a wall. 11:20 (approx.) - lost track of him, spent about 20 min. looking for him, got my purse and jacket, sat at a nearby table 'til about 10 sec. before midnight. Went for it. I was, like, a centimeter away when he noticed me, leaned away, and threatened to hit me w/ his camera... Damn. I was so close! Other than that, I had fun. I was so close to kissing Mike! Damn it, damn it, damn it!... At least I didn't suffer any physical injury other than the shoe-inflicted one... Nothing caused by Mike except for heartbreak, and that's nothing new...

7:00 AM - Bus to Planet Hollywood

Dios, I'm exhausted.

11:38 PM - Bus after rehearsal

Freezing, freezing, freezing! Can't feel my feet! Breakfast OK. My bus was supposed to eat upstairs, but Mr. Dills said I could eat downstairs w/ my friends. Walked back to buses w/ Fran, in front of Mike-sama. No windows in the stadium for Mike to throw my hat out of. ^_^ Hung out w/ Tom Adams a lot. Can see Mike from my pregame/1/2timespot.

4:19 PM - Hotel, post-shopping

Ate lunch w/ Fran-tachi. Got separated from them in a store. Went to Virgin Megastore. Bought Steps' 3rd British CD (import) - $30. Mom'll kill me. On way to food court, ran into Mike-tachi. Got on escalator after Mike-sama - he got off, said he'd rather go up the down one. Almost got run over by a car, but Clay, Aaron, + Edwin yelled at me to watch out.

5:01 PM - Still in room

I was looking for a soda machine, when who did I see but the Kendo Club, Saionji-sama included. Major surprise, I thought he'd be in his room, hiding from me again... Well, at the time (and now), I was listening to Buzz (the Steps CD), and it was on a song I was reading the lyrics to on the bus, that was perfect for me. So I'm trying to get a soda, the machine's not taking my bill, and I let them walk by. Then I follow, singing "Happy Go Lucky". I almost hadn't recognized Mike 'cause he was wearing a hat, but it wasn't the Hat of Yold. ^_^

11:01 PM - Hotel

Boat sucked. Crowded, cold, gross food, glad Kraus made us leave right after dinner. We had a party at the hotel instead. I was on my way to it when Jeff Filson warned Mike of my presence. I couldn't see Mike and wondered where he was until he responded... from the hot tub! I promptly went to put on my swimsuit. I got in the hot tub, Mike got out. Then Fran + Bill came. I hung out w/ them for a while, then went to the party, where Anneke + Jay definitely were, + I figured Mike was. He wasn't there, but he arrived soon. I danced for a while, then left a little after Mike. On to the arcade! Played 5 games of pinball, 1 of Cruisin' USA. Mike left, I couldn't find him until later I saw him... going to his room (2208). Chatted w/ Anneke + Jay on the balcony for about an hour, mainly reminiscing about middle + early high school. Got a prank call about 15 min. ago... Mike-tachi? Mike did see me go to my room to get $ bills to change for quarters...


	4. Arcades, Football, and the Stomach Flu

Chapter 3

1/2/01

7:34 AM - Bus

Breakfast good. Just spotted a street called Helios Avenue. ^_^

10:41 AM - Bus

Rehearsal boring. Major "nani" moment: Gazing at Mike. One of those girls he was talking to on the boat walked past, in Mike-sama's direction, saying "Time to go see my boyfriend Mike!" -_-; You know, I think they hate me w/o even meeting me.

12:25 PM - Bus after lunch at mall food court

Got lunch at the oriental place in the food court. Went to arcade. Played Marvel Super Heroes, Puzzle Bobble (Bust-A-Move), Ridge Racer 2, Tekken 2, + Tekken 3. Sucked at all but the Tekken games. Mike sama was taking on all challengers at Soul Caliber... except me. Ms. Rapach walked by when we were fighting, told me I had to stay away from him, then left. Of course, I promptly went and stood next to Mike again. ^_^ He still refused to play against me. Too bad, 'cause he'd've beaten me, probably. In fact, he could probably beat me at anything in there but Puzzle Bobble... -_-; He would have been able to gloat and feel superior!

2:07 PM - Hotel

Wow... I almost beat Vinnie at Mortal Kombat 3... Played as Sindel, managed to do a move by accident... Vinnie actually didn't know it. O_O Wish Mike had seen me. Hey, maybe I could have beaten him at Soul Caliber if he had let me play!

1/3/01

11:22 AM - Bus, in LA

Ugh... I came down w/ that stomach virus Maura had 2 wks. ago... Been throwing up since early in the football game... Sat in front of Jess Ritchie + Tom Adams for the band photo, next to Anneke + Jay for what I saw of the game, split a pizza w/ Bill + Kevin for dinner. We were stuck in the nosebleed seats... Really, really high. Before pregame - walking w/ Kristin, encountered Mike-sama, got to walk near him the rest of the way to the field, which was a long way. On field, when I was following him, he asked, "What do you want?!" What did I do? Start singing Mandy Moore's "I Wanna Be With You"! Met the baritone player in front of me. Steven, from Georgia. He's nice. Spent the night in Mrs. Bevan's room. At breakfast, walked past Mike-sama, and said "Good morning, Mike." Actually didn't get insulted. I would say he was feeling sorry for me, being sick and all, but I don't think he saw me sick last night... Whatever. Oh, Brandon Masterman got sent home. (Well, sent to be w/ his parents, who were in New Orleans.) Anneke told me that she heard he was leaving the boundaries when we were all shopping New Year's Day, the chaperones were yelling at him to come back. He was ignoring them. Eventually he turned around and yelled at Mr. Croker, using the word "f---ing" a lot. Just finished watching Home Alone.

4:28 PM - Bus, in AL

Woah. I must have fallen asleep. I was reading The Amber Spyglass after lunch (Burger King), then I woke up at the rest stop where we are now. We had been watching Dirty Dancing, now we're watching that movie where the kid wants the gun for Christmas, and everyone says "You'll shoot your eye out," I think it's called A Christmas Story. Morgan Masterman + Christy Barksdale are nice, I've talked to Morgan a lot and talked to Christy a little at lunch. Saw Mike-sama and followed him to the buses, singing "Never Get Over You", still wasn't insulted. Something's definitely up. The ? is, what?

10:06 PM - Shoney's in Nashville

Burger + fries - didn't eat much. Ate w/ Kraus-sensei + the tour guide (Both Buses 5 + 6 were at Cracker Barrel, so no Mike-sama or Anneke-tachi). I miss Mike-sama... Watched X-Men. Wow, it was really good! Oh, I forgot to write that on 1/1, Tom started referring to Mike as my "boyfriend" again... When Tom first started calling Mike that, Mike was still dating Anna... -_-; *sarcasm* Yay, *end sarcasm* people on the bus are inhaling helium from the Shoney's balloons... I still miss Mike-sama...

1/4/01

6:32 AM (Eastern time) - Bus, outside Burger King

Chaperones + drivers just decided not to eat here, only 2 employees each here + at McD's. Good, I'm not with Bus 5 or 6 anyway. I miss Mike-sama... I miss my friends, both on Bus 6 and at school... But most of all, I miss Mike...

9:20 AM - Bus, McD's in OH

Breakfast - Large Nestlé Crunch McFlurry. ^_^ Ate w/ Wes, Nicole, Pat, and Andrea. They were playing w/ the salt + pepper, mixing them, pouring them on the floor, etc. I think Anneke-sempai said her b-day was today.. Have to wish her a happy b-day... I still miss Mike-sama... Almost to NASH, get to see him again in about 11/2 hrs.!

12:44 PM - Home (finally!)

Not even 15 min. at school, and Mike tells me to die. -_-; Oh well. Kuso, I just realized I forgot to wish Anneke-sempai a happy b-day. Oh well. Waiting for Mom, stuck my stuff next to Mike-sama's. Felt like lunch in 8th grade again. ^_^ Well, looks like I survived the trip in one piece.


	5. Appendix - Translations, People, and Ins...

Appendix

Honorifics:

Honorifics are these nifty little suffixes that Japanese people stick on people's names, 'cause over there it's very impolite to refer to someone by their name alone. I just use them because I like to. ^_^ Here are the honorifics I used and their meanings, in order of appearance:

-tachi: And others. Basically, this usually means that everyone else referred to with the person is usually with them anyway.

-sama: Literally used for "Lord" or "Lady", and very respectful, but may be used by a very obsessed girl to her boyfriend, or in my case, crush. ^_^

-chan: Used for young girls, or by girls about 14 and younger to their friends.

-sensei: Teacher. Can also be used as a word on its own.

-sempai: Older student. Another one that can be used on its own.

Translations:

Notice how I inserted various Japanese words and phrases into this thing? Want to know what they mean? Well, now you will.

Ja ne!: See you later!

Maiku-sama koishite: I love Mike (I wrote "Mike" w/ a Japanese accent there.)

Baka desu: I'm an idiot

Nani: Basically, Huh? or What?

Kuso: S***

People:

Who exactly are all these crazy bandies and other random people mentioned in this thing? I shall tell you, complete w/ grade level at the time and instrument!

Me: Um, this should be semi-obvious... Freshman, clarinet.

Mike Ramsey: I love him. No, really. But he hates me... My nickname for him: Saionji-sama. Freshman, alto sax. (Well, in Marching Band anyway... his main instrument is the oboe, but that's not used in marching band, so ha!.)

Anneke: My best friend in Band. Senior, flute.

Jay: Anneke's boyfriend, one of my friends. Senior, field conductor (that's what we called our drum majors then), previously trombone.

Steve: Friend of the above 2. Senior, alto sax.

Mr. Kraus: He's our band director. 'Nuff said. I have no clue what he ever played.

Ms. Rapach: Assistant band director, teaches the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band at NAI (North Allegheny Intermediate, which is 9th and 10th grades, our district's too big to fit in one high school). I know she plays the baritone/euphonium!

Adam what's-his-name: Random friend of Mike. Freshman, alto sax.

Alex: Friend of mine. Freshman, she's not in Band, she takes Chorus.

Kerri: Yet another friend of Anneke-tachi (and me, of course). Senior, alto sax.

Julia: Friend (That's all I'm saying for my friends from now on, I'm sick of typing so much!!!). Junior, clarinet.

Kristin: Friend. Junior, clarinet.

Morgan Masterman: Girl on my bus. Junior, trumpet.

Dan Dills: This guy's just crazy... Nice, though. Senior, percussion.

The other Jay: Guy on my bus, who brought a large plastic cow with him. I don't know his grade or instrument.

Andy Heyl: Friend of Mike. Freshman, alto sax.

Maryn: She rides my normal going-to-that-hell-hole-called-school bus. Sophomore, trumpet.

Maura: My annoying little sister. Obviously not in Marching Band (she's only in 4th grade), but does play the flute.

Caitlin: Friend. In band, but didn't go on trip. Junior, alto sax.

Jen Altrudo: Stands in front of me in our parade formation, normally, but wasn't on trip. Sophomore, clarinet.

Mr. Dills: Dan's dad, one of the chaperones on my bus.

Clay: Guy I know, and am sort of friends with, and his dad's a reporter for the local CBS affiliate. Freshman, trumpet.

Aaron: See above. Freshman, tenor sax.

Edwin: Again, see above. Freshman, trombone.

Jeff Filson: Friend of Mike. Freshman, alto sax. (Gah! Too many alto saxes!!!)

Fran: Friend. Senior, trumpet.

Bill: See above. Even the grade and instrument. ^_^

Vinnie: Friend of Mike. Really good at Mortal Kombat. Freshman, French horn.

Jess Ritchie: Band President, major slacker, but nice and funny and stuff. Senior, clarinet.

Tom Adams: Friend of both Mike and me. Sophomore, clarinet.

Kevin: Friend. Sophomore, alto sax.

Steven (don't know his last name): Guy I met at the rehearsals. ?, baritone.

Mrs. Bevan: Chaperone.

Brandon Masterman: Morgan's brother, friend of mine. Senior, field conductor, previously alto sax, but also

knows clarinet and flute.

Mr. Croker: Yet another chaperone.

Christy Barksdale: Friend of Morgan, worshipped by my sister. Junior, field conductor, previously flute.

Anna: My ex-best friend, later Mike's ex-girlfriend. Not in Band.

Wes: Friend of Mike and me. Sophomore, alto sax.

Nicole: Wes's girlfriend. Sophomore, majorette.

Pat: Friend of Wes. Freshman, trumpet.

Andrea: Um... I know she's friend with Wes, at least. Sophomore, flute.

Miscellaneous (Inside jokes and the like):

So what in Dios's name am I talking about? (Yes, you'll understand that too!)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: I just had never seen this movie before, and wanted to see it.

Dios: In the anime series Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena), Dios is basically God. So I use "Dios" sometimes when most people would say "God".

E-mail from Alex-chan: Tends to be entirely irrelevant.

Kendo Club: Mike and friends. Spawns from the same inside joke as "Saionji-sama", which is that in Utena, there are these 2 characters named Saionji and Wakaba. Wakaba is majorly in love with Saionji, and he's... somewhat less than pleased, to put it lightly. ^_^; Wakaba's love letter ended up on the school bulletin board for all to see...

Monty Mistress 9 to Seihai: A Holy Grail/Sailor Moon crossover that I found on the Net somewhere, and no, I don't remember where. But I do remember that the site was called "Delphinium".

The Saionji quote: Here "Saionji" actually refers to the character. In episode 6, he said, in reference to another character, "No matter how badly you're abused, you're always happy to be near the one you love."

The "Time Warp" dance: We played "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and did the dance, albeit without pelvic thrusts. ^_^

Mike throwing my hat out of windows: He and I were on the bus up to NASH one day not long before the trip, and I went and sat behind him. Then he threw my hat out the bus window. Bout the bus hadn't started moving yet, so the bus driver let me get out and get it. Then I tried to throw Mike's hat out the window, and got elbowed in the chin...

Steps: British pop group.

Hat of Yold: Mike's extremely stupid-looking Indianapolis Colts hat. In this one anime series, Shamanic Princess, there's this thing called the "Throne of Yord". One site I saw kept spelling it the "Throne of Yold". I was telling my friend Shelley (who is not in Band) about that, and she thought the word "Yold" was really funny. So we were calling lots of stuff the "(whatever) of Yold". Mike was wearing the hat that day, and it just stuck. ^_^

Helios Avenue: In Sailor Moon SuperS, the 4th season of Sailor Moon, there's a character called Helios.

NASH: North Allegheny Senior High (School), where the 11th and 12th graders go.


End file.
